How to Schedule and Host Successful Virtual Open Houses on Social Media

Virtual tours have been rapidly adopted in real estate since 2020. That year, 63% of home buyers made offers on homes without seeing them physically. Live video tours are no longer futuristic. They have become standard practice for real estate agents. These virtual open houses leverage video technology, a key part of real estate marketing today. 

With trends in remote work and migration, virtual buying from afar without physically viewing properties may become even more commonplace in the near term. Agents that master virtual open houses on social media and other platforms will be well-positioned to capture a growing market of relocating buyers. 

Social media virtual open houses let you maximize the reach and engagement of your open house tours. These virtual open houses offer broad exposure while replicating in-person tours and interaction. This article dives into social media virtual open houses: what they are, as well as tips on how to host a virtual open house successfully.

What is an Open House?

Just like stores letting customers browse, open houses let sellers showcase their homes to potential buyers. During a 1-3 hour window, real estate agents host open houses to answer buyers’ questions, highlight features, and collect leads for follow-ups. To attract visitors and make a good impression, open houses typically involve staging the home and promoting the event both online and offline. 

How do I Host an Online Open House? 

You can live stream your open house on social media (Facebook, Instagram) or video conferencing tools (Zoom, Google Hangouts) for real-time tours and Q&A. Alternatively, you can offer pre-recorded virtual tours on platforms like Zoom or Google Meet, allowing buyers to explore and ask questions later. 

You should share your tours using multiple formats for wider exposure. You can use a mix of pre-recorded video, 3D walkthrough software tools (like Matterport), and live tours to maximize visibility. Note that just like in-person open house events, successful real estate virtual tours require planning, promotion and follow-up.

Social Media Tools and Platforms for Conducting Open Houses

Real estate virtual tours expand accessibility by catering to remote, busy buyers and buyers who prefer the convenience of viewing homes online. If you’re wondering how to host a virtual open house on social media, you can do so using popular platforms which you probably already use for your social media real estate marketing.

1. Instagram Live

IG Live lets you connect directly with your followers on Instagram in real-time. It is one of the best ways to offer an authentic and interactive showcase of properties. During the live stream, viewers can ask questions and give feedback (comments, likes). You can respond to these questions immediately, personalizing the virtual tour. Ricardo Rodriguez, owner of RRABoston, creates short highlights of his virtual open houses for further promotion on Instagram.

IG Live videos appear at the top of followers’ feeds with a colorful ring, grabbing attention and extending your reach. They’re saved to the Realtor’s IG story for 24 hours. IG Live also allows you to team up with another Realtor/team member during the open house. You can use the “Face” icon at the bottom of the screen to go live with another agent.

2. Facebook Live

Facebook Live open houses are more popular than IG Live tours, allowing agents to host interactive virtual open houses. Viewers can ask questions, chat with each other, and react during the broadcast, creating a social viewing experience.  

Agents can host live virtual open houses through their Facebook Business Page, and promote the event using Facebook’s inbuilt marketing tools like Facebook Events, posts, polls, and reminders. You can create a video to create awareness about your tour like Brad McCallum of McCallum Group, Calgary, Canada. 

The live video becomes on-demand content after the broadcast. You can share, download, edit and reuse it for lead generation. 

3. TikTok Live

Real estate agents like Maddison Sutton have found success using TikTok to build their brands and rent out properties without in-person property viewings. TikTok’s algorithm prioritizes engaging content, potentially making your videos go viral and reach a wider audience.  

Real estate agents with a minimum of 1,000 followers can host live virtual tours on TikTok Live, boosting engagement with interactive features like comments, reactions, and Q&A. Agents can also use the “Stitch” feature to incorporate clips from other TikToks into their live streams. This is useful for adding details or providing contexts about property features.

4. Snapchat Stories

Snapchat is a dynamic tool for enhancing your social media real estate marketing presence. You can promote open houses (both virtual and physical) with Snapchat Stories (24 hour photo/video streams), and Geofilters (custom location-based graphics).  

Snapchat lets you design eye-catching geofilters to attract nearby Snapchat users and showcase the open house details. You can use Snapchat Stories to share interesting details about the property (amenities, floor plan) and the neighborhood to build excitement for your open house event. 

This social media platform has a highly engaged user base who open the app frequently (about 40x per day). So as a smart agent, you’ll want to promote your Snapchat handle like all your other social media platforms.  

Steps to Hosting a Successful Virtual Open House on Social Media

Your target market is already on social media. So understanding how to host a virtual open house on social media that is both informative and engaging, is one of the keys to success in today’s fast-changing real estate market. Here’s how to do it. 

I. Planning and preparation

1. Select the right platform.

When trying to host a social media live virtual open house, you should consider your target audience. You need to pick platforms that are familiar to them. Popular options like Facebook Live or Zoom can easily reach a broader audience. You should also consider other things like the expected number of attendees, level of interaction needed, video/audio quality, ease of use, and cost. 

Apart from hosting your tour on social media, you have several other options. You can use online conferencing tools like Zoom or Hangouts, or dedicated real estate platforms like Zillow 3D Home with MLS feeds. Some new video conferencing tools even allow you to broadcast simultaneously across multiple platforms. 

2. Choose a date and time. 

You want to maximize viewings by choosing a convenient day for potential buyers. Usually, this would be weekends or weekday evenings. Traditionally, physical open houses see more traffic in the afternoons, so you may want to consider the same timing for your virtual open house. Consider Saturday or Sunday afternoons. 

Aim for 1pm-3pm or 2pm-4pm. Afternoon hours provide enough prep time and buyer flexibility. Avoid scheduling during the holidays, special events, or gloomy weather. Sunny afternoons help you showcase the property in its best light. 

3. Craft a compelling caption. 

With captivating captions, open houses become must-see events that tease a big reveal. For example, phrases like “first look!” or “be the first to see” drum up interest, positioning attendees as exclusive insiders.  

You should also highlight what makes the property special. Stunning views? Dream kitchen? When promoting luxury real estate virtual tours, don’t just list the appealing features of the property, create an emotional connection by weaving a story out of them. For example: “Imagine grilling with a sunset view!” You should also motivate viewers with urgency, using phrases like “limited opportunity” or “hot market”. 

4. Prepare visuals, tools and scripts.

Hire a professional photographer to showcase the property at its best. Stunning photos sell houses. You should also remove personal items and optimize lighting for a clean, inviting tour. 

Preparation is key to successful real estate virtual tours. Invest in good equipment: a high quality video camera or 360 camera, microphone, video encoder, LTE modem, and stabilization gear (tripod/gimbal). 

You can track everything using a pre-open-house checklist. This should cover permissions that need to be obtained from the seller, internet stability, audio quality checks, scripts, team members and roles, as well as any contract addendums you might need to be familiar with.

5. Schedule the event.

Schedule your virtual open house at least a week ahead and promote it heavily across social media, your website, and through email for maximum turnout. Use online appointment tools like Timify to register guests, capture leads and send automated reminders. 

Promote the open house across all your digital channels, including visuals and details about the property. Make sure to include key details like date, time and registration link.   

You can schedule multiple virtual open houses to accommodate busy schedules. But don’t combine a virtual open house with an in-person tour to avoid background noises and disruptions. 

Ii. Engaging during the open house 

1. Maintain a friendly and informative tone throughout the event.

You want to plan, but not over-plan. You might have a script, talking points or an outline you follow, but ensure you keep things genuine and friendly. You should take your virtual audience through the property just as if you were doing a physical showing. As shown in some successful luxury real estate virtual tours, such as Ryan Serhant's $10M San Francisco townhouse tour, the key is to engage your virtual audience as if they were there in person. 

Aim for 30-60 minutes with a clear agenda: welcome intro, detailed tour, Q&A session, and closing remarks. You can ask attendees to submit questions beforehand.

2. Respond to questions and comments in real-time to foster interaction.

During your virtual open house, ask for thoughts on the property and monitor the chat for questions. Respond quickly to comments or questions that come up. You should prepare responses to frequently asked questions (FAQs). Having answers to common questions ready saves time and lets you focus on giving more detailed answers to the more specific questions. 

3. Encourage viewers to share the live stream with their networks for increased reach. 

You can encourage viewers to share your stream link with their networks, offering incentives like giveaways. After the event, ensure to post live stream highlights on social media to create more buzz.

Iii. Follow up with attendees 

1. Send thank-you messages and gather feedback.

After the virtual open house, send an email to thank attendees. This builds rapport and shows you appreciate their interest. Include a feedback form in the email to learn how attendees liked your event. These insights can help you improve future events. You also want to analyze the streaming data from the event. Look at the number of viewers, watch time, and traffic sources to understand reach and engagement.

​​​​​​​2. Share additional property information and schedule private showings.

After your tour, you will also want to provide clear instructions for those interested in the property. These include information on next steps - scheduling private in-person tours or making an offer. Ensure you share your contact details. Aim for 2-3 follow-up emails after the event. In your follow-ups, include highlights and details that weren’t shared in the virtual open house. This gives interested buyers a more complete picture.  

You should also follow up with no-shows. You can capture new leads by creating a new form (on your open house landing page) and offering the recording in exchange for their contact details. 

TIMIFY's Social Media Integrations for Open House Scheduling

Real estate agents and brokers can use TIMIFY’s “Reserve with Meta” app to schedule virtual open house tours directly on Facebook and Instagram. Here’s how it works for a real estate agent who is planning to hold a virtual open house for a new listing:

• The agent creates posts on their Facebook page and Instagram profile about the virtual open house event, including the date and other details.
• Using TIMIFY’s “Reserve with Meta” integration, they add an online booking button to both their social media profile and the specific posts about the virtual open house. Potential buyers see the booking option and can directly book a time slot to participate in the virtual open house through Facebook or Instagram.

• The booking automatically syncs with the agent’s TIMIFY calendar. This helps avoid double bookings.